ron meyer

Ron Meyer’s Pissed: A DreamWorks and Disney Wedding Album

8:10AM STV | Disney and DreamWorks today sent out official confirmation of their shotgun wedding, issuing a release around town raising more questions about its relationship than it answers. More »

9:20AM STV | Nicita Has Left the Building: Not a day too soon, it appears, 42-year agency veteran and CAA partner Rick Nicita is ditching his Death Star digs for the co-chairman spot at Morgan Creek. Nicita joins a distinguished list of CAA defectors to studio front offices, led by Michael Ovitz’s spectacular Disney flame job and Ron Meyer’s decidedly improved turn heading up Universal. The latter studio’s distribution partnership with Morgan Creek will come in handy for Nicita, who will be charged with restoring the Creek to its late-’80s/early-’90s golden years after a string of recent underachievers including The Good Shepherd and Man of the Year. We admit we’re a little surprised; at a time when most of his old CAA contemporaries are slowing down and/or testifying in federal court, Nicita’s move is that of a man with something to prove — most likely with wife Paula Wagner and client Tom Cruise looking on studiously from their own perches at UA. That’s just the kind of mensch he is. Good luck, Rick! [LAT, Photo Credit: Getty Images] More »

Trade Roundup: HBO Hoping New CEO’s Tenure Remains Refreshingly Mugshot-Free

5:51AM Defamer Hollywood | · Time Warner officially announces that interim CEO Bill Nelson will be permanently replacing the recently shitcanned Chris Albrecht, confident that their newly installed leader will keep himself free of PR-nightmare altercations at Vegas valet stands. [Variety] · Idol runner-up Katherine McPhee will make her acting debut in the “indie dark romantic comedy” Last Caller, a part that will reportedly require no singing, and, hopefully, pave the way for the trashier roles that we’ve envisioned for her ever since her first cattle-call audition appearance. [THR] · Universal president/COO Ron Meyer signs on for another five years running the company, extending his reign through 2012. Gushes boss Jeff Zucker, “He knows the business inside and out and has an incredible eye for talent, and inspires intense loyalty. He is a crucial part of NBC Universal’s success, but I will not hesitate to feed him to the animatronic Jaws at the Universal Studios theme park if that becomes necessary for the advancement of my own career.” [THR] · Publicity-whoring magic rival David Blaine to issue press release calling Cameron Diaz’s new boyfriend a “pussy” for not filling the Times Square death-box he just escaped from with water. [THR] · The studios releasing this summer’s fast-starting sequel blockbusters (Spidey/Pirates/Shrek 3) are finding that overseas audiences are much more tolerant of disappointing crap than their American counterparts. [Variety] More »

Today In Hollywood Power-Player Non-Scandals

5:23AM Defamer Hollywood | With the headlines recently being dominated by depressing stories of high-profile Hollywood executives succumbing to their personal demons and sacrificing their jobs, Page Six decides to zig where others have zagged, noting that a long-brewing LAT investigation involving Universal’s Ron Meyer’s love of high-stakes poker seems (at least for now) to be a scandal non-starter: RON Meyer, the longtime head of Universal Studios, was an avid gambler who lost substantial sums playing high-stakes poker, sources say. But a 10-month investigation into Meyer’s wagering by Los Angeles Times reporter Kim Christensen has evidently hit a dead end. “Christensen has interviewed dozens of people, and been to Las Vegas and back many times, but the paper hasn’t printed one word,” said one insider. [...] More »